La Culpa - A Short Film

It’s a very common theme. Guilt. It drives events, other emotions, and entire plot lines. Guilt is an emotion. Guilt is one of the most powerful emotion that we can feel, the reason being that it sticks with us. It’s been said that fear is the strongest emotion, however fear is temporary, and is often fairly easy to overcome. It can be as simple as removing one’s self from a fearful situation. Guilt, however, can last a lifetime and if there is anything you could do to rid guilt, it is extremely tough.

    What makes this guilt so powerful in both characters is the fact that its guilt from an action that was committed out of character. The first is committed by the thief. It is obvious, even in the begging, that the thief is not a murderer. It all happened so fast that the murder had to be an accident. Of course, when the victims spouse attempts to shoot the murderer, that is purely driven by revenge. Nothing more. Yet the second it is done, he doesn't feel any better, instead he instantly feels...guilty. That guilt grows the more he thinks about it, and when he sees the child, the guilt he feels doubles in size. 

   As he attempts to escape through the optical illusion like staircase created in his mind as a result of the guilt he was feeling. I believe the boy following him was a symbol. After he saw the boy, he realized he just took that child's father from him for good and that was the heaviest thought on his mind. The boy represents that guilt, stabbing him in the back. 

    As far as the technical side of this short goes, its very unique. The cinematography was excellent with some very memorable and artistic shots, as well as some optical illusions. The script was, I thought, well written; providing a very nice character build up in the first minute of the film. The story by itself is nothing special, but the twist of the fifth floor makes it that much more unique. Overall, it was a great short film. Nothing seemed overlooked and even the title adds enough to the story that it is important.